Developments in the pharma manufacturing space

30-Jun-2011 - in-Pharmatechnologist.com presents a round up of developments in the pharmaceutical manufacturing space with news from Dendreon, Amcor and Cody Labs.

News in brief

Par to reduce sales headcount at Strativa unit

30-Jun-2011 - Par Pharmaceutical will cut 100 jobs at its proprietary products division Strativa Pharmaceuticals as part of a restructuring plan designed to save as much as $12m.

Prosonix secures funding for development of proprietary products

30-Jun-2011 - Prosonix has secured funding to move its pipeline of proprietary mono and multi-component combination respiratory therapies through clinical development.

Pfizer to buy back Akrimax plant and sell or close it by 2013

29-Jun-2011 - US drug giant Pfizer has exercised its option to re-acquire a manufacturing facility in Rouses Point, New York from Akrimax.

DSM adds single-step purification and polishing technique for bioproduction

29-Jun-2011 - DSM Biologicals has launched a new production method designed to streamline downstream processing during biopharmaceutical manufacturing that, it claims, makes making mAB-based drugs more cost effective.

People on the move: pharma jobs

29-Jun-2011 - in-PharmaTechnologist.com presents its latest round up of movements in the pharma sector, including appointments at Soligenx, Arno Therapeutics, Euthymics and Aeris Therapeutics.

CSL receives US FDA warning for GMP violations at vaccine plant

28-Jun-2011 - Australia’s CSL Biotherapies has received a warning letter from the US FDA for GMP deviations at its vaccine production plant in Parkville, Victoria.

News in brief

New CEPs for DSM and Aanjaneya Lifecare

28-Jun-2011 - The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare (EDQM) issued a new batch of CEP for drug products.

Sanofi opens new vaccine R&D site in Canada

28-Jun-2011 - Sanofi Pasteur has opened a new centre in Canada in an effort to streamline its global vaccine R&D operations.

Gerresheimer to invest €12m in key Czech plant

28-Jun-2011 - Gerresheimer will expand its pharmaceutical packaging plant in the Czech Republic to meet growing demand for plastic systems and to further expand a key training hub.

BioMarin to buy Pfizer’s Shanbally biologics plant

27-Jun-2011 - BioMarin will buy Pfizer’s biologics manufacturing plant in Shanbally, Cork, Ireland to add production capacity for its candidate mucopolysaccharidosis treatment.

PhRMA and GPhA disagree on ‘first to file’ US patent law plan

27-Jun-2011 - The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has welcomed proposed changes to US patent laws that would alter the basis for patent awards.

Watson adding manufacturing capacity in $44m expansion

23-Jun-2011 - Watson Pharmaceuticals has initiated a $44m (€31m) expansion of its Utah R&D and manufacturing plant for transdermal patches and topical gels.

Novartis starts work on Russian manufacturing plant

23-Jun-2011 - Novartis has started work on a manufacturing plant in St Petersburg in the first stage of a $500m investment in the Russian pharmaceutical industry.

Lonza launches manufacturing for early-phase biologics; Regenicin pays up

22-Jun-2011 - Lonza has launched a new process development and material supply service designed for the discovery and early development market.

Tech & collaboration central to FDA's import quality plan

22-Jun-2011 - The FDA has outlined its plan to ensure the quality of products imported into the US, including working more closely with regulators and industry.

Pall expands Allegro mixer range

21-Jun-2011 - Processing technology firm Pall Life Sciences has introduced a 200L version of its Allegro single-use mixer for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Catalent and Cevec team on cell line development platform

20-Jun-2011 - Catalent Pharma Solutions and German expression system developer Cevec Pharmaceuticals have partnered to create a cell development service that, they claim, will help drugmakers generate stable lines faster.

FDA sends warning letter to Dr Reddy's API Mexican plant

20-Jun-2011 - Dr Reddy's Mexican API production plant has received an FDA warning letter that details failures to validate analytical methods and other problems.

Grindeks opens Latvian API plant & eyes finished dosages

20-Jun-2011 - Grindeks has opened a 2,300 sq m API production plant in Latvia that will boost UDCA sales to €10m ($14m) a year when at full capacity.

Mystic awarded key manufacturing patent for delivery tech

16-Jun-2011 - Mystic Pharmaceuticals has been awarded a US patent for a manufacturing technology that is critical to its biologics delivery platform.

APP invests $38m to boost injectable generics capacity

16-Jun-2011 - US drugmaker APP Pharmaceuticals will invest $38m to boost its manufacturing capacity for injectable generic drugs at its facility in Grand Island.

SGS gains WHO prequalification for Belgian lab

16-Jun-2011 - SGS Life Sciences Services testing received WHO prequalification as a centre for pharmaceutical quality analysis has laboratory in Belgium.

News in brief

RxEvent launched to aid physicians, manufacturers and the US FDA

15-Jun-2011 - A new online adverse drug event (ADE) network will improve the quality of data and, ultimately, boost drugmakers’ cost-efficiencies according to developer PDR Network.

GSK investing CA$30m & adding 70 jobs at Ontario plant

15-Jun-2011 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is investing more than CA$30m (€21m) to add dermatology product manufacturing capabilities and create 70 jobs at a Canadian plant.

People on the move: pharma jobs

15-Jun-2011 - in-PharmaTechnologist.com presents its latest round up of movements in the pharma sector, including appointments at PhRMA, Dyax, Alnylam, Avi BioPharma, Pacira, Asmacure and Xceleon.

NeoStem’s China antibiotics unit gets expanded SFDA approval

14-Jun-2011 - US stem-cell therapy firm NeoStem predicts that output of its China-based generic antibiotics subsidiary Suzhou Erye Pharmaceutical will increase after further manufacturing approval from the SFDA.

SSB and Sudpack team on plastic films for biologics production

14-Jun-2011 - Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) has teamed up with packaging firm Sudpack Medica AG in a deal focused on making plastic films for biopharmaceutical industry applications.

GSK to buy China flu vaccine JV GSKNB for $39m

14-Jun-2011 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced plans to buy its joint venture Shenzhen GSK Neptunus Biologicals (GSKNB) to expand influenza vaccine production capacity in China.

Biopharma revenues key to Pall’s Q3 gains

13-Jun-2011 - Sales to the biopharmaceutical sector drove revenue growth at Pall in third quarter fiscal 2011 and will be key to the firm’s future says CEO.

Baxter ordered to pay compensation in heparin case

13-Jun-2011 - US drugmaker Baxter International has been ordered to pay compensation of $625,000 to the estate of man who received a dose of heparin that was contaminated with over-sulfated chondroitin sulphate (OSCS).

News in brief

Symetic opens process tech demo lab

13-Jun-2011 - Symetic has opened a new lab facility to showcase its range of processing systems to the pharmaceutical manufacturing, packaging and nutraceutical sectors.

Pfizer begins ‘virtual’ trial and calls for innovation in research

09-Jun-2011 - Pfizer has begun what it claims is the world’s first ‘virtual’ trial and says that such innovation is needed to make sure clinical research is sustainable.

Hovione and PSI team on poorly soluble APIs

09-Jun-2011 - Portugal-headquartered API manufacturer Hovione has teamed up with Particle Sciences (PSI) to tackle the issue of poor drug solubility.

Unilife says device selected for new biologic trial

09-Jun-2011 - Unilife says its one of its technologies has been selected as the delivery device for a biologic drug in an upcoming clinical trial.

News in brief

Aurobindo Pharma gets US FDA OK for alprazolam extended-release

09-Jun-2011 - Drug maker Aurobindo Pharma has been cleared to make a generic equivalent of Pfizer’s CNS drug Xanax XR by the US FDA.

Functional excipients to drive US market to $2bn by 2015, study

08-Jun-2011 - Demand for functional excipients will drive growth of the US market over the next few years according to new analysis.

Lonza announces CHF10m Singapore biomanufacturing expansion

08-Jun-2011 - Switzerland-based life sciences supplier Lonza says it will invest CHF10m (€8m) to expand a Singapore plant that is part of its custom biomanufacturing business.

Cangene wins $61m extension to BARDA supply deal

08-Jun-2011 - BARDA is extending its botulism antitoxin supply contract with Cangene, adding $61m (€42m) to the value of the deal over the next three to four years.

Indian manufacturers cut vaccine prices for GAVI

07-Jun-2011 - Indian drugmakers Serum Institute and Panacea Biotech have reduced what they charge the GAVI for vaccines, prompting similar commitments from several Big Pharma firm.

News in brief

Avacta lands top 10 US pharma buyer for Optim platform

07-Jun-2011 - Analytical technology firm Avacta says it has won its first top ten US pharma customer in collaboration with marketing partner Pall Life Sciences.

Impax addresses Hayward cGMP deviations; unveils Taiwan expansion plan

07-Jun-2011 - US generics maker Impax Laboratories says it has started addressing cGMP deviations observed by regulators at California manufacturing plant.

Xcellerex wins new customers for manufacturing techs

06-Jun-2011 - Biomanufacturing technology firm Xcellerex has had a good start to June with R-Pharm and Fujifilm Diosynth signing up as customers.

Pfizer considers generics manufacturing JV with Hisun

06-Jun-2011 - Pfizer says it is considering a manufacturing-focused partnership with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical as part of its generic drug business.

update

GSK signs strategic deal with MaRS innovation

01-Jun-2011 - UK drug major GSK has entered into a ‘strategic partnership’ with MaRS Innovation, a Canadian group focused on harnessing the commercial potential of the discovery pipelines of 16 top Toronto...

Bilfinger Berger wins €30m deal for work on Genzyme plant

01-Jun-2011 - Bilfinger Berger has won a €30m ($43m) contract to help Genzyme add 8,000L of production capacity at its site in Geel, Belgium.

Ashland to pay $3.2bn for ISP

01-Jun-2011 - Ashland will buy International Specialty Products (ISP) in a deal designed to expand it's business in less cyclical, high-growth markets such as pharmaceuticals and personal care.